Jean Reno

Biography

Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez, professionally known as Jean Reno, is a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour and three-time César Award-nominated French-Spanish actor celebrated as one of the most iconic, internationally beloved, and commanding screen titans in world cinema. Born in Casablanca to Andalusian Spanish parents who fled the Francoist dictatorship, Reno moved to France at age 17, studying dramatic arts at the Cours Simon. Reno achieved monumental European stardom through his historic, decades-long artistic collaboration with visionary French director Luc Besson, beginning with the post-apocalyptic sci-fi Le Dernier Combat (1983), Subway (1985), and the hypnotic free-diving masterpiece The Big Blue (Le Grand Bleu, 1988), which became a generational cultural landmark in France. He earned international acclaim as Victor the Cleaner in Besson's Nikita (1990) and achieved immortal global cinematic stardom headlining Besson's English-language masterpiece Léon: The Professional (1994) opposite Natalie Portman, delivering a deeply sensitive, tragic portrayal of a gentle, illiterate hitman. Reno demonstrated sparkling comedic brilliance as Count Godefroy in the box office smash Les Visiteurs (1993) and crossed over into major Hollywood franchises, starring as Franz Krieger in Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible (1996), Vincent in John Frankenheimer's Ronin (1998 opposite Robert De Niro), Inspector Philippe Roaché in Godzilla (1998), and Captain Bezu Fache in Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code (2006). With his resonant baritone voice, imposing physical presence, and soulful eyes, Jean Reno remains a monumental ambassador of French and international cinema.